Our New Zealand adventure begins with a flight from Los Angeles to Auckland, the country's capital and main international airport.

We arrive on the 18th (Monday will not exist for us!) and the first day will be spent checking out Auckland, picking up our rental car and taking our time getting to our first destination Otorohanga! On our way down we will be stopping by the famous hot water beach where you can dig a hole and make our own spa! (I wish we had that in our backyard!)

Our second day we jump right into our extreme adventures with Black Water Rafting in Waitomo. We will be doing the Black Labryinth tour! On this we will weave, jump and float are way through the glowworm-studded underworld of Ruakuri Cave. Together we'll explore this amazing labyrinth of rock, water and inky darkness...catching glimpses of daylight through a 65 metre tunnel, finally emerging into lush native forest.This is one Jon and I are looking really forward too!

Our third day is a more relaxing day as well as a travel day on to Rotorua! Once there our next adventure is the Multi Day Adventures Kaituna Extreme Experience! Here we will ride the grade 5 rapids, with waterfall rafting over 3 falls 1m, 4m and 7m high! Not a trip for the faint of heart thats for sure!

The next day we will be taking a Volcanic Air Safari! And we even get picked up by plane at our cottage! (How cool is that!) We will then fly over Mt.Tarawera's Crater Rift and wonder at the massive destruction caused by the 1886 eruption. We will then return to Rotorua over the Blue and Green Lakes, the geysers of Whakarewarewa Thermal Reserve, and Rotorua City.

That night we also get to experience a Mitai Maori Cultural Experience! (This is the one Karissa is really excited for!) We have an opportunity to enjoy an authentic cultural experience. The evening also includes a hangi (traditional Maori meal cooked in an earth oven) dinner.

We then move on to Queenstown, which is the Adventure Capital of New Zealand! The downtown area is tucked into a picturesque bay on the shores of Lake Wakatipu with the Southern Alps presenting a magnificent backdrop for the city, supplying amazing views from wherever we may be!

Our first activity in Queenstown is the famous Zorbing experience! Now some of you ask - what is this crazy thing you say? Well Zorb is the sport of rolling down a hill inside a giant inflatable ball which was created in New Zealand and yes we want to do this! We are even doing the Hydro Zorb where Jon and I will jump in one together with a bunch of water and roll down the hill!

Our next adventure in Queenstown is the Dart River Safaris. Here we get to jet boat deep into the pristine wilderness up a stunning aquamarine river, beneath magnificent snow-capped mountains, and walk amongst ancient beech forest. (Where we will be in heaven taking tons of pictures!) We then end the day with and Appellation Central Wine Tour in Central Otago.

We have a day to relax and then jump right back into some high gear activities! Our next adventure is the Siberia Experience. We will participate in a four hour wilderness adventure in Mount Aspiring World Heritage National Park. We will leave from Makarora at the head of Lake Wanaka and enjoy some of New Zealand's untouched scenery from the air, on land and from the water. Mountains, rivers, glaciers, alpine lakes, rain forest, waterfalls and more we get the chance to see it all with a 25 minute unforgettable scenic flight, a 2.5 hour walk beginning in the remote Siberia Valley in Mount Aspiring National Park and a 30 minute exciting Jet Boat ride with Wilkin River Jets! (Amazing is really all we could say when we saw this adventure!)

Our last adventure in New Zealand is probably the most extreme! (and the one Karissa is a bit anxious for!) We will be experiencing Deep Canyon Wanaka the Big Nige which is abseiling down waterfalls! Here we will experience spectacular views and the abseils will take us into and behind spectacular waterfalls!

We then have one last day to relax and take in all that we can from New Zealand before packing up our stuff and getting ready to head back to California and start our lives as Mr. and Mrs. Oien! :)